Hard for me to feel badly for baseball players when freaking colleges are making $billions on college football players who are paid nothing other than tuition, books, and room and board. Now that’s a joke.

]]>By: keltictimhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630945
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 21:59:18 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630945So revenues are rising yet people will still talk smack about selig and “want him out of the way”. Sure seems like he’s doing a good job to me if the money keeps going up.
]]>By: jamie2141http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630550
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 02:29:28 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630550Nice one ! Isn’t amazing how “Baseball is Dying” never dies no matter what evidence there is to the contrary – it must fall under the Colin Cowherd rule to never let the facts get in the way of an opinion.
]]>By: Reflexhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630285
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:56:10 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630285Er, obviously I meant “$24M/year on Cano”….$240M/year would really be shocking…
]]>By: Reflexhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630284
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:55:10 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630284Absolutely agree. People who think the M’s overpaid for Cano are ignoring the business aspect: The M’s are in the midst of negotiations with Root for cable rights. Signing Cano undoubtedly raised their eventual take beyond what they paid for his contract. In effect they got an elite 2B for ‘free’ for a decade. The Angels got Pujols free for similar reasons. The same thing occurred with the first A-Rod contract for the Rangers, they signed him and then followed up with a tv deal that more than covered his contract(beyond what they had been paid for tv rights prior).

TV deals are dramatically reshaping the financial landscape of MLB, and make a lot of the supposedly bad contracts incredibly smart investments. Spend $240M/year on Cano and get nearly twice that back from Root Sports? Yes please!

]]>By: chumthumperhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630114
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:25:16 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630114We all know, of course, this will not keep the owners from shaking the tin cup looking for handouts.
]]>By: historiophiliachttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630099
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:31:34 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630099Um, Cabrera went to the WS in 2012…the same season he won the Triple Crown. Just saying.
]]>By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutragedhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630092
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:18:11 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630092My 19mo old isn’t playing football because he’s not going to give himself brain damage. It’s not just the pro’s who are suffering from CTE as a complication from multiple concussions, it’s college and high school kids as well.
]]>By: davidbrentfanhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630083
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 07:43:04 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630083Do you think that your 1 year old actually has a reasonable chance of making it as a professional baseball player?

Hahahahahaha.

I don’t think you should have your 1 year old play baseball instead of football or another sport due to salary considerations…

]]>By: km9000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630079
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 05:48:20 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630079The thing that gets me isn’t the average MLB salary (which apparently is $3M+). It’s how much the highest paid guys get in a sport where its elite, like Cabrera, Trout, McCutchen, and Kershaw haven’t recently been to the WS. They can’t carry their teams like in the NBA.

And even if Pujols, Cano, and A-Rod performed like they get paid to, that alone wouldn’t make their teams surefire contenders for the next couple years.

]]>By: mottershead1972http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630070
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 04:38:58 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630070my one year old will play baseball, not football… more $$$ and nobody trying to kill you…
]]>By: moogrohttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630068
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 04:07:44 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630068This may resemble a bubble if people decide to unplug their cable TV sports subsidy.
]]>By: Kevin S.http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630067
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 03:40:17 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630067Why should they? Hell, that won’t even lower the price for the casual fan, because demand is so high that the scalpers will just get the difference on the secondary market.
]]>By: detectivejimmymcnultyhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630053
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:27:52 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630053The Angels signed a TV contract for $3 billion over 20 years after signing Pujols and WIlson. They already won those contracts before they ever showed up for Spring Training.
]]>By: Reflexhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630046
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 02:09:35 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630046I do not doubt you, you usually back up your assertions, but where are you getting your numbers? Last I read on the topic baseball had the highest portion towards player salaries of major sports. But that is likely out of date since I read that a few years ago and several major tv deals have been signed since…
]]>By: Reflexhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630044
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 01:54:32 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630044In this context, ‘underpaid’ is relative to available league wide revenues. In other words: Given how much the sport is raking in, do the athletes who actually put their health on the line to generate that revenue receive the correct percentage of that revenue for the risks they are taking?

In a larger sense, no, athletes do not contribute millions of dollars of benefit to society. That said, neither do team owners or executives. Given that, if the money is there I’d rather see it go to those who do the actual work on the field. If you stopped paying the athletes that money it is unlikely the revenue would go away, it would just increasingly go into the pockets of the already ultra rich owners.

]]>By: roanboonhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630039
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 01:39:33 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630039I feel guilty saying this with Paperlions and others having an intelligent conversation about the subject matter at hand, but I just gotta say it:

Cobbler < Pandowdy < Grunt

]]>By: pepperallowedhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630038
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 01:37:06 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630038This isn’t true. The NFL/NFLPA is a 53/47 split. However, it’s a bit of creative accounting as the owners get 1.5% of the revenues first to put toward stadiums.
]]>By: dcfan4lifehttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630033
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 01:11:16 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630033Id rather have a 100% guaranteed contract any day of the week. Football your out on the street as soon as you blink.
]]>By: gibbyfanhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630025
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:49:54 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630025It’s all about the money and free markets Van……. they will give something back to the fans when the fans take something back from them………while the fans continue to give they will continue to take
]]>By: gibbyfanhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630024
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:45:36 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630024Yes, but I would much rather suffer the ‘rigors’ of a 162 game schedule than play 16 with the biggest, strongest atheletes on the planet potentially trying to do me serious physical harm on virtually every play………even more so now that even the catchers are protected (which they should be)……..yup–rather have AROD’s job than Brady’s
]]>By: Gordonhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630023
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:44:53 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630023Only way prices will come down is if a lot less people go to the games. That goes for all of the major sports. Why would they lower prices if they can keep raising them without a negative impact on revenue & profit?

There are obviously a ton of people still going to games. It would be interesting to see how that revenue growth happened: More people going to games? Ticket price increase? More non-ticket revenue (food & beverage, parking, souvenirs, TV rights)? All of the above?

There’s no obvious incentive to lower prices, as nice as that would be for families.

]]>By: chacochickenhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630014
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:57:14 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630014Interesting that it seems to be said by fans of the NFL which is in the midst of the concussion crisis that will likely only get worse and appears to be a significant future detriment to the sport.
]]>By: dcfan4lifehttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630013
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:54:49 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630013Cant make that assessment since the NFL season is still going and they havent reported their revenue yet. Have to wait until what, April to find that out.
]]>By: dcfan4lifehttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630012
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:53:08 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630012You both are missing some major points when referencing salaries in MLB. First off, unlike every other major sport, there is no salary cap. Just a luxury tax which is so high that only the Yankees I believe have ever exceeded it. Second, teams play 162 regular season games a year, around double the next highest sport. Every game is televised, with sponsors and the whole works. Hence the huge tv deals. But that also factors into money per game scenarios. Look at some of the higher paid athletes in each sport and what their paid per game.

Lebron James – $19,067,500 a year, $232,530.48 a game
Alex Rodriguez – $29,000,000 a year, $179,012.34 a game
Sidney Crosby – $12,000,000 a year, $146,341.46 a game
Tom Brady – $13,800,000 a year, $862,500 a game

Now every player has bonuses and incentives, but these are base salaries except for Bradys since football has the signing bonus guaranteed but not much else. Basketball and Hockey have some guaranteed money too. However MLB the entire contract, every dollar, is guaranteed. So even tho on average the highest paid MLB player, Arod, makes less per game than most top counterparts in other sports, he does however get paid every dollar regardless of performance, health or anything. He gets it all. So to say MLB players are underpaid is ludicrous with such contract structures. Sign on the dotted line, never get another hit in MLB and you still make every dollar. Tell me, how is that being underpaid?

]]>By: ptfuhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630011
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:51:41 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630011Yep. “Baseball is Dying” ™
]]>By: chacochickenhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630006
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:45:14 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630006MLB is building the largest, most opulent mausoleum in history.
]]>By: spudchukarhttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630003
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:35:22 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630003Dude, are you high? This is America. All those bean counters with Business degrees, are rolling on the floor in laughter. Give something back? Appreciate the Fans? Ah hah, hah, hah, hah, hah. Tell me another one.
]]>By: Joehttp://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/17/report-mlb-recorded-record-revenues-in-2013/comment-page-1/#comment-630002
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 23:34:10 +0000http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=507248#comment-630002Sports team accounting is really opaque. I believe the Yankees offload some revenue by granting below-market rights to YES, which they also have ownership of. It’s also helpful to know the salaries that Hal and Hank and any other owners are pulling down. And I think they have a weird way of amortizing player contracts that never made sense to me (may not apply to the Yankees).

Regardless, the business value is determined by the amount of cash that is available to the owners. For the Yankees and probably everybody else, that’s a lot more than their Operating Income.